We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and to pilot a new inspection process being introduced by CQC which looks at the overall quality of the service.
This inspection was unannounced so no one at the home knew we were going to inspect..
The home had a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service and has the legal responsibility for meeting the requirements of the law; as does the provider.
Keo Lodge provides a service for up to ten men who have a learning disability and/or mental health diagnosis. There were ten people living in the home at the time of our inspection. They have been discharged from hospital with restrictions that relate to where they live, their medication regime and being available for treatment and assessment. Accommodation is provided over three floors. Bedroom doors are alarmed so that the movements of people are known by staff.
We last inspected this service on 6 November 2013 when we saw that people received a good service. At this inspection we saw that there were no breaches in the regulations we looked at.
All the people we spoke with told us that they were happy with the support they received. We saw that people were involved in planning their care and were able to comment on the day to day care provided by making comments in their daily diaries and one to one sessions with staff. We saw that people were safe from harm because they knew the restrictions on their placements and how to raise concerns if they were unhappy. We saw that when people raised concerns these were dealt with quickly. We saw that people were told what actions would be taken or not taken as a result of their comments and the reasons for this response. This showed that people were kept informed about the actions taken.
There were robust recruitment procedures in place and staff were supported and trained to ensure that they were able to provide safe and appropriate care and support to people according to their individual needs.
We saw that everyone living at Keo Lodge had the capacity to make decisions about their care and support. People were able to make decisions about their day to day lives. People were protected from abuse and unnecessary harm because there were sufficient staff available to support them. Staff had received training and support that ensured that they had the skills and knowledge to support people safely and in a personalised way. Healthcare professionals told us that they were happy that the care and support people received met their needs. The support people received enabled them to develop their daily living skills and progress towards independent living where appropriate.
Staff responded to people’s needs for reassurance and support as required. Staff were kind and caring and people knew what had been planned for the day and who was supporting them at different times of the day. We saw that sometimes physical interventions had been undertaken by staff to protect people. We saw that these incidents were monitored by the senior management team and other professionals to ensure that they were not occurring unnecessarily and putting people at risk of harm.
Staff respected people’s privacy and dignity by always knocking on bedroom doors and asking for permission before entering. Although people needed constant supervision people were able to have privacy in their bedroom because bedroom doors were alarmed so that staff were alerted to their movements around the home.
We saw that people were supported to have their physical, mental and social needs met by staff working in the home and healthcare professionals including GPs, dieticians, psychiatric community nurses and inpatient treatment. People were supported to carry out their own personal care and develop their daily living skills. People were supported to maintain contact with the local community and people important to them. Relatives told us that they were able to visit at times that suited them so that their relationships were maintained.
We saw that systems were in place to monitor and check the quality of care and to make sure the environment was safe and well maintained. There was evidence that learning from incidents and investigations took place and changes were put in place to improve the service. This meant that people were benefiting from a service that was continually looking how it could provide better care for people.